Avoid Networking Spam (and a super embarrasing moment)

Avoid Networking Spam (and a super embarrasing moment) Spam the word makes most of us cringe. We dont want to receive it, we dont want to be accused of sending it. We all know that spam is something like unsolicited e-mail. Heres an embarrassing story about networking spam featuring yours truly In 1998 I was going to leave the FBI (I was not an agent) and take an internship with Simplot. This was a huge change for me the pay was lower, the hours were cut in half, there was no insurance, vacation or sick leave. I was just about to hit the time at the FBI when I got three weeks of vacation instead of two. But I was going nowhere and didnt want to spend the rest of my career doing clerical stuff there wasnt a corner office for the clerks in the FBI back then! So I went through the interview process at Simplot, things were going well and I felt like the job was probably mine. I was still doing what I could to sell myself though. This was way different than applying for the FBI, where it was so full of policy and procedure that it seemed humans werent allowed to make decisions (as long as I could type fast and pass the polygraph I had a shot). Simplot wanted me to impress them, and thats what I tried to do. I remember getting a tour from the boss of my future boss (she turned out to be pivotal in my career and I owe a lot to her). As we were walking down a hallway she said something about her 10 year old son and I said something like I caught a snake this weekend. You have to understand, I love catching snakes (and lizards, and frogs, and well, pretty much anything I can). I thought I was being personable and sharing my interests with her. It was so out of place, she looked at me funny and hesitated long enough for both of us to think where in the world did that come from??? I dont remember how we moved on, I think she just humored me and brought the discussion back from dorkiness. I call this networking spam. Unsolicited, off-topic noise. It is a distraction. I was sure she wanted to know more about me, but this was so out-of-place that it didnt make any sense. (I got the job, it was awesome, and it accelerated my career in a big way.   I never mentioned snakes to her again.) Are you a network spammer? Do you have any network spam stories? Come on, dont make me feel by myself here share your story! Avoid Networking Spam (and a super embarrasing moment) Spam the word makes most of us cringe. We dont want to receive it, we dont want to be accused of sending it. We all know that spam is something like unsolicited e-mail. Heres an embarrassing story about networking spam featuring yours truly In 1998 I was going to leave the FBI (I was not an agent) and take an internship with Simplot. This was a huge change for me the pay was lower, the hours were cut in half, there was no insurance, vacation or sick leave. I was just about to hit the time at the FBI when I got three weeks of vacation instead of two. But I was going nowhere and didnt want to spend the rest of my career doing clerical stuff there wasnt a corner office for the clerks in the FBI back then! So I went through the interview process at Simplot, things were going well and I felt like the job was probably mine. I was still doing what I could to sell myself though. This was way different than applying for the FBI, where it was so full of policy and procedure that it seemed humans werent allowed to make decisions (as long as I could type fast and pass the polygraph I had a shot). Simplot wanted me to impress them, and thats what I tried to do. I remember getting a tour from the boss of my future boss (she turned out to be pivotal in my career and I owe a lot to her). As we were walking down a hallway she said something about her 10 year old son and I said something like I caught a snake this weekend. You have to understand, I love catching snakes (and lizards, and frogs, and well, pretty much anything I can). I thought I was being personable and sharing my interests with her. It was so out of place, she looked at me funny and hesitated long enough for both of us to think where in the world did that come from??? I dont remember how we moved on, I think she just humored me and brought the discussion back from dorkiness. I call this networking spam. Unsolicited, off-topic noise. It is a distraction. I was sure she wanted to know more about me, but this was so out-of-place that it didnt make any sense. (I got the job, it was awesome, and it accelerated my career in a big way.   I never mentioned snakes to her again.) Are you a network spammer? Do you have any network spam stories? Come on, dont make me feel by myself here share your story!